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Iranian women footballers claiming asylum in Australia evacuated from their safe house on Wednesday after one team member changed her mind and revealed their location to the Iranian embassy, Canberra said. Seven members of Iran's visiting women's football delegation had sought sanctuary in Australia after they were branded "traitors" at home for refusing to sing the national anthem. But one member of the group had second thoughts after speaking to other players who had turned down asylum in favour of returning to Iran, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

Tony Burke says one player and one support member reunited with five players women’s team granted humanitarian visas this week A total of seven members of the Iranian women’s football team have now sought asylum in Australia, home affairs minister Tony Burke has confirmed. He confirmed an additional two people had sought asylum before the rest of the Iranian team departed Sydney on a flight to Malaysia on Tuesday night, one player and one support member. Burke said the pair were offered humanitarian visas, and both took up the offer. The visas were processed overnight. Continue reading...

SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - Two more players from the Iranian women's soccer team sought asylum in Australia, local media reported, after five players were granted humanitarian visas on Tuesday over safety concerns on their return home for not singing the national anthem. One player may have refused to board a flight at Sydney airport at the last minute on Tuesday night, national broadcaster ABC News said in a report, citing unidentified sources. The remaining players have left Australia for Iran.

Advocacy groups sue Trump administration to maintain temporary visas for Somalis MEE staff on Tue, 03/10/2026 - 17:28 The temporary protected status programme is scheduled to end on 17 March A view of the sign in front of the US Department of Homeland Security in southeast Washington, DC, on 15 February 2026 (Ken Cedeno/Reuters) Off Advocacy groups on Monday filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's shutdown of the temporary protected status (TPS) programme for Somalis in the US. Three Somali TPS holders, one Somali TPS applicant, and the groups African Communities Together and Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans said in their complaint that Somalia is "currently facing a humanitarian crisis with roots that stretch back decades". "In recognition of ongoing armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions threatening the safety of Somali nationals, the United States government designated Somalia for TPS in 1991," they wrote. "Since 2002, each extension and redesignation has acknowledged Somalia’s ongoing armed conflict, which has led to arbitrary detentions, physical violence, torture, the murder of civilians, and other severe human rights violations." The legal team on the case comprises Muslim Advocates; the Haitian Bridge Alliance; the Legal Defense Fund; and Communities United for Status and Protection.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The lawyers said in a statement that if [TPS] protections "are unlawfully and imminently stripped away, Somali TPS holders face loss of immigration status and work authorization, deportation proceedings and related immigration confinement, forced family separation, and removal to a country where conditions remain deeply unsafe".  Trump administration to end legal protections for some Somalis in mid-March Read More » The complaint points to the Trump administration's fast-paced decision to remove Somalis as part of "preordained, pretextual, politically influenced agendas". Late last year, US President Donald Trump lashed out at Somali immigrants, as well as the only Somali-American member of Congress, Ilhan Omar, for what he says is a takeover of the state of Minnesota. Its largest city, Minneapolis, has the largest Somali immigrant community in the US, estimated at just over 80,000 people.  "They come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch. We don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it," Trump told reporters.  "I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you, okay? Somebody said, 'Oh, that’s not politically correct.' I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country," the president added.  His comments were in response to a question about whether Trump thinks former Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz should resign over a Covid-era payment programme that was, according to the Department of Justice, defrauded by a large number of Somalis.  'Temporary means temporary' The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in January that TPS for Somali nationals in the US will expire on 17 March, and urged members of the community to "self-deport". TPS is a short-term legal status typically granted to citizens of countries who cannot return home due to war or major instability. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It often gets extended every few years, given US law - at least on paper - espouses "non-refoulement", meaning people cannot be sent back somewhere they could face imminent death or injury.  'Devastated': Previously protected Syrians in US face upheaval as legal protections end Read More » That stipulation, however, often faces legal challenges. Over the past 12 months, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants has meant the cancellation of TPS for Venezuelans, Syrians, and Afghans, among others.  "Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status," former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement earlier this year. "Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first," she said.  Monday's court filing said there are approximately 1,082 Somalis in the US who are TPS beneficiaries. Another 1,383 Somalis have pending TPS applications.  If Somalis do not wish to become the target of an arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after 17 March, they should use the "Customs and Border Protection Home" mobile app to report their departure from the United States, the agency said, in which case they would be reimbursed for their outbound flight expenses. DHS previously claimed that hundreds of people have used the app to self-deport, but there are no known instances of anyone receiving the promised funds.  "This is part of a nakedly white supremacist pattern and practice of terminating TPS for Black and brown countries, from Cameroon to Haiti to Yemen, even as this administration signals its openness to immigration from predominantly white and European countries," Omar Farah, the executive director of Muslim Advocates, told reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday. "This administration has shown no restraint in its willingness to denigrate Somali people, their culture and identity, en masse and with a degree of cruelty that has become a signature of this administration's approach to immigrants of colour. We really can't mince words," he said.  US Muslims News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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A foreign disinformation campaign has targeted two candidates in France's local elections this weekend, a government agency and a security source said Tuesday. The campaign was aimed at lawmakers of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party who are running to be the mayors of the southern cities of Marseille and Toulouse, AFP learned, with the first round of voting Sunday.

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March 10 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday called the U.S decision to designate Afghanistan a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" regrettable, and said it wanted to resolve the matter through dialogue after the U.S. demanded the release of U.S. citizens held. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday he was designating the Taliban government a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," and urged Kabul to free all detained U.S. citizens, including Mahmood Habibi and Dennis Coyle.

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - A second Iranian ship is currently nine nautical miles from Sri Lanka's coast, a spokesperson for Sri Lanka's cabinet said on Tuesday, adding that it would eventually be moved. (Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, writing by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh)

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Humanitarian needs in Iran are growing sharply due to the war, the Red Cross said Tuesday as it launched an emergency appeal for more than $50 million. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said its appeal for 40 million Swiss francs ($51.5 million) would help support five million people through the next 16 months. "Across the country, communities are facing growing humanitarian needs related to health care, shelter, water and sanitation, and mental health and psychosocial support," the IFRC said.

A stadium in Lebanon has been turned into a shelter for people displaced by Israeli attacks.

TEHRAN, Mar. 10 (MNA) – The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that it has destroyed the Israeli regime’s Ha'ela satellite communication center, located south of Tel Aviv (Sdot Micha).

Players escorted to safe location in Australia as government finalises humanitarian visas

Protesters have briefly blocked a bus taking the Iranian women's football team out of their Gold Coast hotel. The group of a few dozen physically sat in front of the vehicle to block it. They chanted 'save our girls' as the vehicle attempted to make its exit. Protesters say they believe the bus is heading to the Gold Coast airport. The Guardian saw at least one of the football players through the window in tears More Iran women's football team members expected to seek asylum in Australia 'They are safe here': five Iranian women footballers granted humanitarian visas in Australia Watch: 'Save our girls': support shown for Iran players after exit from Women's Asian Cup Continue reading...

Australia's home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has confirmed five members of the Iranian women's football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia. The announcement came hours after the US president, Donald Trump, posted about their plight on social media. Advocates expect more players to seek asylum amid a frantic but 'delicate' effort to inform the entire squad of their rights More Iran women's football team members expected to seek asylum in Australia 'They are safe here': five Iranian women footballers granted humanitarian visas in Australia Watch: 'Save our girls': support shown for Iran players after exit from Women's Asian Cup Continue reading...

By Alasdair Pal SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - Australian police extracted five Iranian women soccer players from the team's hotel before they were granted asylum, the interior minister said on Tuesday, as details of their escape from Iranian government minders emerged. The five players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, sought protection after the team were branded "wartime traitors" for refusing to sing their national anthem before an Asian Cup match.

By David Brunnstrom March 9 (Reuters) - Despite what it called a humanitarian "disaster" in Afghanistan, the U.S. said on Monday international assistance to the country should be evaluated, given Taliban "intransigence" and its exclusion of the female population from basic rights.

The British Chambers of Commerce said the geopolitical situation could ‘change the economic outlook considerably’.

In its lawsuit, Anthropic said the designation was unlawful and violated its US free speech and due process rights.